MONTHLY ROUND-UP: AUGUST 1867
The Old Westminsters’ hopes of a third successive Metropolitan League championship seem to be over after a poor month in which they lost four of the six games they played, including defeats to both their rivals Angel and The Regents’ Park. They are not completely out of the running, but will surely need to win their three remaining games against the other contenders if they are to catch up.
As for Angel and the Regents, they have been switching positions at the top of the standings with some frequency. After Angel’s shock defeat at the hands of Kensington, it appeared that the Regents may be starting to gain the upper hand but on the final day of the month, everything changed again. The two met on Angel’s home field, where home advantage was made to count as Angel recorded a big victory by a score of 8-1. They now lead by a fraction again with eight games to play, while the Regents have just seven remaining. The Westminsters are a further three games back, which may just be too much.
Of the other three teams, the City of London Club had looked to be moving well clear in fourth place after victories in their first three games this month, but they were beaten in the final two and Kensington took advantage. Remarkably, due to postponements earlier in the year, they played seven in August and were beaten in the first four, only to defeat first Angel and then the Westminsters twice in the remaining three. They are now one ahead of Clapham, who return to last place, and two behind the City Club.
